Complete and Utter Insanity
by Titus the Psychopath
Summary: How would you feel after being taken from your friends and family? Angry? Sad? Terrified? How about... None of the above? Yep- that's exactly how Lukas Farrow feels after being Reaped. None of the above. But, he has to feel something, right? Oh, yeah. There's something there alright. Insanity. Complete and utter insanity.
1. Chapter One

**Author's Note: Well, hey there. Now, I want you to read this first, as it will be important in the rest of the story.**

**I don't really describe my characters much. I do this because I would rather that you imagine them how ****_you_**** want to. Call me lazy if you will, but I like my reader's to use their imagination a bit.**

* * *

"Zoe Litvak!" Tracy Fabricant, our Capitol representative's voice rung out through District Six's microphone.

The young woman in question, a black-haired beauty, slowly crept up onstage. She stood there in shock, her face pale.

"Now, for the boys!" Tracy called out in a ridiculously cheerful voice. She plunged her hand into the metal bowl, fumbling for a name. After what seemed like hours, she pulled it out. "Lukas Farrow!" She called.

I stiffened. That was _my _name. I looked around at the silent men standing around me. None raised a voice to volunteer. It was all me.

"Lukas, dear? Where are you?" Tracy called out sweetly, a failing attempt to cover up a trace of impatience.

I crept out of the crowd, feeling my legs take me up the flight of stairs.

"Don't be shy." She smiled, pulling me forward. "Let's have a round of applause for our District Tributes!" She clapped once or twice, but once it was apparent that the silent crowd would remain as such, she gave in. Instead, she forced us to shake hands.

She forced _me_ to shake hands with one of many possibilities of my future victims. Because, as of today, I was going to have to find some way to make sure _she_ died.

Because I sure as hell wasn't going to.

* * *

"You have three minutes." The peacekeeper's gruff voice penetrated my thoughts. Who would be here to say goodbye to _me?_

I remembered then that I actually did have a family. Well, kind of.

My sister came in first, tears pouring down her face. "You have to win!" She sobbed, flinging her arms around me. "You have to come home!"

I hugged her back lightly, awkwardly patting her back. It was like hugging a stranger. "I'll try." I promised, somewhat coldly.

She stepped back, tears still streaming from her eyes. "I know." She whispered, walking back out with the peacekeeper.

My mother and father came in next. They looked like they were at a loss for words.

"Just... Be careful, Luke." My mother said softly, biting back tears.

"I will." I said flatly.

"Try to come home, as best you can." My father said, looking at me as if I were being shipped off to slaughter. Oh, wait...

I was.

* * *

She kept fidgeting, Zoe did. She would steal glances at me every once in a while, too.

I ignored her. Just like I ignored everyone else.

The door slid open, and our mentor, I guessed, came and sat in front of us. What was his name again? Randy? Something like that.

He came to sit in front of us, a sad smile playing on his lips. "I'm sorry that this happened to you, I'll try to train you sufficiently enough to stand a chance. Who know, maybe one of you will win!" If that was a try of enthusiasm, he was failing miserably.

"Maybe." Zoe said, sniffling. "But it won't be me. I'll never get to go home!" She sobbed.

Our mentor flinched. "Hey, now. We'll try and work things out. If you stand even a small chance against those careers, you can win. You can go home." He said soothingly to her.

"Isn't it a bit cold to be choosing favorites already?" I asked, my voice freezing.

He turned to look at me, smiling. "Favorites? I'm not a fan of them. I'll try to save you equally." He promised. "If I don't, that's cutting Six's chances in half, and I can't do that. But, if even _one_ of you two goes home, it'll be an achievement. I love it when our District goes home... Having them see their families again..." He trailed off wistfully.

"When do we start, um...?" Zoe asked meekly, wiping her face.

"Raymond." Our mentor sighed. "Call me Raymond."

"When do we start?" I asked, my tone harsh.

Raymond looked at me disapprovingly. "Look kid, it's alright to be angry. Truly, it is! But, don't bite the hand that feeds you."

Humph. "Fine." I said, bored. "_Please_ give us some of your life-saving advice."

"Don't go for the Cornucopia. It's a bloodbath- an easy way to get yourself killed." He said seriously.

Before I could stop myself, a small smile lit up my face. A bloodbath? The idea seemed strangely alluring to me.

Raymond looked slightly sickened. "I don't think smiling's your strong suit, kid. You look a bit insane."

I sneered at him. Insane, indeed.

He swallowed. "Anyways, seriously, stay away. If you honestly have to, go for something on the edge, like a backpack, or a knife. Then get away as fast as your legs will carry you to high ground. When you get there, find water. Water's your new best friend."

Water. Right.

"W-What then?" Zoe's lip quivered.

I had to stop myself from curling my lip. She was so weak-minded. I would kill her off easily.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, my voice transforming into a fake emotion-filled one. "Find shelter, climb up a tree, wait for a lone tribute to make the mistake of wandering by and.." I made a violent gesture with my hands, grinning wildly.

Raymond and Zoe looked at me, full of horror.

I dropped the fake emotion.

"H-How could you _say_ that!" Zoe looked horrified. "Y-You can't actually _want_ to kill anyone... Do you?"

I ran my tongue over my teeth, as if thinking about my answer. "Who's to say what I want or not? Not you, of course." I sighed. "I was Reaped, I might as well get some pleasure out of it." I snarled. "Don't you_ want_ a winner?"

"Arrogance isn't good for you kid. And you're wrong anyways. You find food first- then shelter. It doesn't do you any good if you starve to death."

I grinned wickedly. Food wouldn't be a problem. "Of course."


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Note: I don't really have anything to say at this point. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Why don't you two go get some rest? We'll be at the Capitol soon." Raymond suggested to the both of us, not taking his eyes off me.

He had been keeping an eye on me since we'd met. What, did he think I was going to kill _him?_ While the idea was tempting enough, it was against the rules. And in any case, I needed sponsors. Though, there was the difficulty of getting them to like me... And I wasn't a very likable person.

* * *

"Would it be better to keep him asleep?"

"No... We should wake him up."

"Are you sure? R-Raymond said he might be a little-"

"Who cares what Raymond said? If he wakes up in the middle of it- what then?"

"Good point."

Three voices whisper-argued on whether or not they should wake me up. Well, lucky for them I was already awake.

I groaned, rolling over onto my back, my eyes flickering open.

Three people stood over me. At least, I think they were people. They were certainly some of the strangest people I had ever seen.

The first one had orange hair- neon orange hair. He had perfect skin, which was a dark tan. His aesthetic gold eyes looked nervously down at me.

The second was one of the strangest. She had violet skin, covered in pale gold tattoos. She looked less concerned that I was awake, which was fine with me. I was getting slightly annoyed that everyone was scared of me. It wasn't them that had to get into the arena with me.

The third, was perhaps the most normal. She had pale skin and black hair. The only think inhuman about her was her eyes. They were a deep purple, with cat-like slits for pupils.

They threw off the covers and literally rolled me out of bed. I fell onto the ground, hissing as I hit the floor. I shot up, a murderous gleam in my eyes. Couldn't they have just kindly told me to get up? Throwing someone onto the floor was awful rude of them!

"S-Sorry!" Neon-hair squeaked, shivering. I rolled my eyes.

So did Violet-skin. "Come on, now. Follow us. We need to get you ready for Elwira." She said, walking out of the door.

It was then I realized that I had been moved. We had already arrived at the Capitol. It was unfathomable to me, how I was moved without being woken up. I wasn't a heavy sleeper- you couldn't be in Six. Not when something could go wrong at any second. Then again, this was the Capitol. They could do anything and there wasn't anything, anyone could do about it.

* * *

"Hmm..." Elwira, my stylist, circled my naked body, seemingly taking in every detail. I resisted the urge to cover up. "Well, _you've_ got a nice face." She said matter-of-factly, smiling. "I can tell that sponsors will rain you with gifts."

That made my job a million times easier. All I had to do was- nothing. Absolutely nothing. Apparently my 'nice face' did the job for me.

"Anyways, as you know, each year it is my job to reflect the aspects of a District through the tributes. Each stylist brings their own flair to the mix, desperately trying to win our tributes sponsors for the arena. You may also know that I am one of the most effective stylists District Six has ever seen." She was right, District Six had won many sponsors under her careful aesthetic guidance.

"What are you going to dress me up as? A train? A car? A boat?" I asked, clearly bored. I had no interest in funny costumes- not when I was only weeks away from having to fight other kids to the death.

"Close." She said, smirking. "I'm thinking more of a wind-based project. No- not hovercrafts, that'd be a nightmare! I mean actual wind." She said proudly. "It will be _amazing!"_

If she said so. I just hoped that I wouldn't look ridiculously stupid or something.

* * *

"Stop squirming!" She snapped, pulling the fabric tighter.

I was covered in neck-to-ankle in a skin-tight blue _unitard_. It left _absolutely nothing_ to the imagination. I hoped that she was giving me something more than this. I mean, I know they like to show off the 'nice looking' tributes, but this was going a little overboard... Wasn't it?

"Now for the clouds." She said, a small smile lighting up her face. I had no idea what she meant by 'clouds.' They couldn't use actual air vapor, that would fade too fast.

She came back quickly with a fluffy white over-coat. She pushed my head through it and kept pulling at it until it was snuggly on.

It wasn't as bad as I had previously thought. It covered anything that might have been showing through, so I was now in a more... Modest... Costume. It had little cloud-shaped holes in it, letting some of the sky-blue fabric from underneath show through.

I had no idea what this costume had to do with transportation, but I decided to go along with it. I needed the sponsors, and quite frankly, it didn't look that bad on me. It definitely wasn't something I was going to wear on a regular basis, mind you, but for the Tribute Parade, it would be fantastic.

"Like what you see, handsome?" She asked while I examined myself in the mirror.

"It's fine." I said, flatly.

"Do you appreciate _anything_?" She rolled her eyes.

I shrugged. I was a very appreciative person, _or _good with words. "I guess."

"Well, go on and meet up with your mentor and the other tribute. They should be waiting for you." She said, shaking her head slightly.

I nodded, walking into the first room I was in. Zoe and Raymond were there waiting, just as Elwira said they would be.

"Hey, kiddo." Raymond said, a slight nervous twang in his voice. "You're looking nice."

I shrugged. "Thanks. I guess."

Zoe was wearing roughly the same outfit I was, the difference being in the cloud shapes, though, I suspected that it would be hard to do exactly the same. Still, what did I know about textiles? That was another District's specialty.


	3. Chapter Three

**Author's Note: Oh, hi. Here's chapter three. I know I haven't uploaded in a while, and I'm sorry for that, but I have other things on my mind. Like schoolwork and things like that. All in all, I haven't had much time for writing. Well, I'm here now with a fresh, new chapter, and that's what counts, right?**

* * *

I clambered onto the chariot clumsily. It was almost time for the opening ceremony.

Beside me, Zoe stood awkwardly, smoothing down her fluffy costume. She didn't look bad, I'd give her that.

I guess I didn't look so bad, either.

"You two will look _fabulous_!" Zoe's stylist, Walleche, exclaimed, standing at the foot of the chariot.

Elwira grinned, standing next to him. It was apparent that she agreed with him. Well, it was _their_ work, after all. Why wouldn't they think it was great?

* * *

A crowd began to cheer as the District chariots began to roll down the alley. Some of them were calling out names of their favorite tributes, tributes they'd bothered to look up in the program. It was mostly the names of the District One, Two and Four tributes, which wasn't surprising. They're always crowd-pleasers, coming from a Career District.

I heard my District being called quite a few times, and some people were waving at us. I waved back. Maybe one would be rich enough to sponsor me.

And if I got sponsors... What was counting me out of the Games? Absolutely nothing, that is.

I grinned- a real grin this time, looking around at the large crowd of people. A few of them had begun to call out our first names, which I took as a good sign. That must mean at least _one_ of them would sponsor us, right?

* * *

We finally slowed to a stop. Other chariots with other District tributes lined up behind us.

President Snow didn't look any older than he did several Games ago. I didn't find this strange, most Capitol citizens tried to keep themselves from aging too much. I guess President Snow was no exception.

"Welcome, tributes, to the fifty-eighth annual Hunger Games!" His voice echoed through the square loudly. I'm sure you could have heard it for miles. "And may the odds, be ever in your favor!" The crowd roared with obvious pleasure. He held up his hand for silence. "I must congratulate our Head Game-maker, Tyron Pyrope, for making sure that this year's arena... Will be one of the most... Memorable!"

A deep-set fear worked its way into my gut. 'This year's arena will be the most memorable?' That didn't sound good. No, that didn't sound good _at all._

I stole a glance at Zoe, swallowing nervously. She looked back, my fear mirrored on her face. It was obvious that she knew of the threat that hung over our heads. If this arena was the most memorable, what kind of horrible Game-maker extravaganzas did we have to worry about this year?

I knew it wouldn't be anything harmless, that's for sure.

Around us, the other tributes let that sink in. All of them looked nervous- even the Career Tributes. They may have been arrogant, but they weren't stupid enough to think that a memorable arena was a good thing. We had all seen the last Quarter Quell, and _that_ had been bad enough- and certainly memorable.

If this was even worse than that... What hope did we have for survival? Maybe counting myself as a contender in these Games _wasn't_ such a good idea after all.

The crowd didn't seem to notice the sudden nerves of this year's tributes. They were too busy roaring their excitement at President Snow and Tyron Pyrope.

It was truly disgusting. All of it. The way they were excited for a more dangerous arena. The way they were excited for more ruthless deaths.

The way that they enjoyed the Hunger Games at all.

* * *

"You did great, kids." Raymond smiled at us. "They seemed to like you well enough. I wouldn't count out sponsors!"

I couldn't find it in myself to smile. "They were cheering. When the President told them about the new arena. _Cheering._" I growled, fuming. I knew it wouldn't do much good, but I was still angry.

Raymond's smile faded into a pained expression. "It hurts, doesn't it? That they enjoy our deaths? " His eyes clouded for a moment, as if he were remembering something. He shook out of his trance. "I'm sorry to hear about your arena. It's never a good thing when they say that... I remember my arena." Raymond shuddered, remembering it.

"What was it like?" Zoe asked quietly. "What did they do?"

Raymond sighed, not looking too pleased to speak about it. "They threw us all in a volcanic wasteland, where every hour marked another eruption. There was a forested mountain nearby, but there wasn't anything of use there. Only a few springs for water... And mutts. Lots of mutts." His voice cracked, dropping in volume.

Zoe looked absolutely terrified. "What if they do something worse? What if they freeze us? Or put us in the air? Or..." She swallowed nervously. "What if they put us underwater?" She whispered.

"Why is being underwater the words of those three?" I asked, bewildered. I thought freezing was a lot worse than being underwater. At least I could swim around to warm myself up, in the cold, there wasn't as many options.

"I can't swim." Zoe stated, begrudgingly.

I shrugged. "Not many people can- especially in our district. In fact... I bet, besides District Four, more than half of us can't."

"Can you?" Raymond asked suddenly. "Swim, I mean."

I nodded. "I used to go to this little flooded area after every rainstorm. Taught myself."

"Good. That might come in handy. Water is usually something that slows a tribute down- it might just save your life, being able to swim."

"Maybe." I sighed. I doubted that swimming would do me much good- unless Zoe's prediction came true, and we _were_ thrown into an ocean. I laughed at the thought. Underwater? Please, that was the worst idea I'd ever heard! There had _never_ been anything like that for an arena! We were more likely going to be thrown into the air than underwater! At least, I thought so.

If only I had known how wrong I was.


	4. Chapter Four

**Author's Note: Well, here's a new chapter, a lot faster than I expected. I guess that's what happens when you have a lot of time on your hands, eh? Anyways, enjoy the chapter. And maybe I'll get a review or more this time, who knows.**

* * *

"Wake up!" Someone banged on my door, disturbing my rest. "You have a _big_ day of training ahead of you!" Oh, joy. It was _Tracy_.

Why did she have to come _now_ of all times? Why couldn't I have just... I don't know... Not seen her the rest of our time here? Everything about her annoyed me; her voice, her appearance... Everything.

I growled, rolling out of bed as she banged on the door again. "I'm _up_!" I snarled in the most savage voice I could muster. Maybe _that_ would get her to leave me alone.

Wrong. "Don't use that tone with me, young man! Get up or you'll miss breakfast!" She snapped. I heard her heels clicking on the floor as she left my doorway.

What's worse than a your Capitol representative being there to herd you around? A _determined and strict_ Capitol representative being there to herd you around. Oh, how the odds were in my favor. Not.

* * *

"So, tell me, Zoe. What are you good at?" Raymond asked Zoe kindly. He was going over our strengths for training.

"Uh... Well... I, uh... I guess I'm good at running..?" She stammered, looking down at her food. How pathetic.

"Any sort of weapon you can handle?" He asked her patiently.

"I-I don't think so..." She muttered.

"Well, that's something to work on for these next few weeks, isn't it?" He said, smiling. He turned his head to look at me. "What about you, kiddo? What can you do?"

I thought about it for a moment. What _was_ I good at? Besides being intimidating to the Capitol citizens. "I can..." My mind started working, and my head stopped being blank. "I'm good at aiming." I said, grimly. "I can probably handle a knife- probably. And I'm quick. Real quick." I sighed.

Raymond regarded my information for a moment, before deciding he didn't want to comment on it. "Well, work on survival, both of you. You'll need it." He muttered before getting up and leaving the room.

This was getting irritating. He wasn't doing anything to help us. Yes, I get it, it's a bit hard to work with us. One of us is a bawling idiot, and I might be a bit sadistic. So? It's his _job_ to help us out! I bared my teeth at these thoughts, fuming. So much for a good mentor, right? The only thing he was _good_ at was being sympathetic! How the _hell_ did _he_ win his Games?

Tracy wiped her mouth carefully, properly, before getting up. "Alright, you two. It's time for training. Follow me, and _I'll_ at least get you there on time." She, at least, was annoyed at Raymond's behavior. I was glad I wasn't the _only_ one.

* * *

We walked into the training center, and I was almost surprised at what I saw. It was_ huge_. The roof of the place must have been fifty feet in the air- a long drop for some.

I was also surprised at, even though it wasn't quite time, we were the last ones to arrive. The other tributes were already gathered in a circle, seemingly waiting for us. It was slightly embarrassing, but I let the feeling pass. How were we to have known, what with our mentor being utterly hopeless and all? It wasn't our fault we were last.

As soon as we joined the circle, a large athletic man, the head trainer, stepped up and began to explain the rules. Most of them were already known by us, and didn't have to be repeated. I guess they were just making sure. You can never be too careful with the Careers about.

When she finished, she read off a list of training centers. I took the time to survey my opponents. I wasn't the smallest one there, no, there were at least three twelve year old tributes. Easy targets for us larger and older tributes. It was more than usual, but I couldn't help feeling grateful. The easier targets, the better. Maybe I could get home.

She finished and the tributes dispersed, the Careers instantly going towards the weaponry. I saw Zoe over at the axe station, badly handling an axe for the first time. The fool, did she think she would be lucky enough to get an axe? Her stupidity would be her downfall.

Instead of instantly going over to the weapons, like every other tribute was, I headed over to the edible plants test. It might be a clue to the arena was like.

I was wrong. There were so many plants that I'd never even heard of before- and they could have flourished anywhere. Eventually, though, I burned some of their images into my mind. If I could keep this knowledge, at least, I had a chance at survival. Just a chance, however.

After I finished with that test, I decided to work with some weaponry. Survival skills could only get you so far into victory- you needed strength as well as skill.

I picked up a knife from one of the tables and flung it at a dummy. It barely missed the heart, lodging itself a bit too far to the right. It would cause a lot of pain, yes, but it wouldn't be good enough to kill a tribute. I needed to work harder.

"Try aiming a bit to the right when you throw. You seem to curve your wrist to the left, just slightly. You'll need to counter that. Other than that, your aim seems good, especially for someone from Six." I heard an instructor's voice from behind me. Well, they knew best, didn't they?

I grudgingly threw the knife slightly more to the right. This time it lodged itself in the dummy's heart. It was an instant kill- or at least, close to one.

"Very good! Why don't you practice a couple more times, just to form a habit at it? Then you should go work on something else, there's not much left to teach you!" The instructor praised, looking rather pleased to have such a 'talented' tribute at his station. What did I have to lose?

I threw the knife a few more times, getting the target almost every time. There were a few times where it missed, but that was expected of almost anyone lacking much practice, and I was no exception.

Maybe I shouldn't have counted myself out of these games after all...


End file.
